


Royal Respite

by deductionfreak



Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Gen, No Plot/Plotless, Sick Character, that one fucking 'character a gets sick and character b takes care of them' trope
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-08-19 15:33:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16537319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deductionfreak/pseuds/deductionfreak
Summary: Despite everything, Alm couldn't find himself regretting the events that lead up to catching a severe cold.





	Royal Respite

**Author's Note:**

> I almost did not post this here because I am a Coward and terrified of showing my work.
> 
> Special thanks to my friend Graww, who beta'd this and threw numerous sandals at my face for my mistakes

There’s a pounding at the back of his eyes as he rasps out a groan between breaths from his mouth. His dim awareness lets him know he’s kicked off the covers in his sleep, that he’s covered in sweat, and that the cracks of light that manage to break into the room are making his headache worse.

At the back of his mind there’s a yell that sounds like Mycen about getting up and working, about duty and training and yet he can’t even gather the energy to just _move_. He tries, he really does, to open his eyes, but even cracking them open causes him to flinch and—

“Shhh...” goes a soothing voice he’d recognize even in his muddled state. As much as he loves the owner deeply, his head pounds all the harder. The cold towel at his forehead, however, is like a soothing balm. Alm can hardly believe he’s found his salvation in the form of a wet, fluffy cloth he is sure probably belongs in their bathroom.

“Gotta get up...” he groans out instead through congested throat and sinuses, but puts up no resistance as his partner pushes him back down with a huff, the wet rag now patting down his face.

“Alm.” And just with that calm but commanding tone, he gives up and lets Celica have her way, no matter how much that inner voice in his brain keeps yelling like Mathilda does at new recruits. “Rest. I’ll clear our day.” 

Those words are like music to his ears, no matter how much he wants to complain about leaving her all the work, about how they needed to address the people with an audience today, and how they needed to complete preparations for the next census. He does not get a chance anyway, for when her hand is on his chest once more, he feels her magic flow into him, and then, there is silence.

* * *

Alm awakens once more to find it’s easier to open his eyes... and he feels a lot cleaner than he did when he first woke up. There are more pillows piled on his side of the bed, propping him up somewhat and making it easier to breathe. His headache is still present but weaker, at least, and it is then he finds that all of the curtains have been drawn shut. 

He is alone. There are voices outside, but he is not given much time to try and tell them apart when the door opens.

“Alm! You’re awake!” Celica crosses the distance between the door and the bed, tray in arms. Dizzily, he tries to make heads or tails of if he likes the smell of the soup she carries or if it’s going to make him heave.

“Hi,” he croaks, throat as parched as the eastern lands had been for a time in what used to be Zofia. At least his immediate worry is placated; Celica looks about as healthy as can be, wearing clothes far less fit for an audience and a lot more casual. Blinking in a struggle to keep his eyes open, Alm tries to get up once more, or at least sit, but makes a terrible job of it as his partner busies herself setting things down on the bedside table, towel falling sadly off his forehead and onto his chest.

It is a soft kiss to his forehead that pushes him back down fully on the bed, and soon after the soothing touch is replaced with the towel once more. With a huff, he gets the message, watching Celica instead with half-lidded eyes that he struggles to keep open, although they often slide to the bowl of soup nearby. Now that he got used to the smell... he felt a little hungry...

“How are you feeling?” She asks, and the chuckled huff that leaves him is interrupted by a cough. Her rueful smile in turn makes him wish he could just will himself better, if only for her state of mind. Briefly, her right hand touches his forehead, testing his temperature, and her smile fades into a frown.

“Bad,” he admits, a small smile on his lips, at the very least to show her it’s not as bad as it could be. “Better than earlier. Much better,” Alm adds, if only to give her a better idea. It makes him wonder what time it is, and how long he had been out since the morning — to him it felt like the blink of an eye, and he currently has no frame of reference. His nose still feels congested, and twitches at the feeling of wanting to sneeze. Something he tries to resist by breathing with his mouth as he has been. 

At the very least, that alleviates her expression to a brighter smile, and his own expression brightens even more in turn. “A little thirsty... a little hungry... those are good signs... I think.” His voice still sounds raspy, of course, but he hopes it’s not quite as bad as he feels it is. “Headache isn’t so bad now.”

The sigh that leaves her lips seems to unwind her entirely, her shoulders drooping in what he knows is relief as her hand reaches out. He leans to her touch as she cups his cheek, sighing as well in contentment as his eyes slide closed. “I’m glad,” he hears her say, her cool hand wandering to card through his hair instead. A soft, pleased hum rumbles at his throat, and he hears her chuckle in turn. “I was worried...”

Her admission is met with an earnest gaze as he opens his eyes to look into her own. Weakly, he raises his left hand slightly, clenching air, and she soon understands, placing her own left hand on his own. Resting both on his chest, his thumb starts to run on her knuckles and back of her hand, eyes sliding half-closed. “I’ll be alright,” he assures her instead of the apology that dies at his throat. “I have the best for the job looking after me.”

It had the effect he wanted as she opens her mouth, cheeks flushing, then roughly ruffles his hair in protest. “Alm...!” 

His jovial laugh is punctuated by his coughs, and yet it doesn’t stop him from leaning against the pillows and letting loose. He finally stops as he feels his congested nose react and, thankfully taking the offered handkerchief from his partner, he weakly uses it to clean up his nose. Ugh... that felt gross. “Uh, um... thanks. For the change of clothes.” Her right hand once more found its way to his head, ruffling his hair gently before just running through it once more. 

“Of course,” she said, a more genuine and pure smile forming on her face as her left hand plucks the handkerchief away from his own. She then grasps the tray, setting it on her lap as she sits at his bedside. “Hungry?”

His stomach answers for him, and Alm flushes more than he already is by virtue of illness. Her laugh at his response prompts his own fondness to rise, flustered expression shifting more to show his affections for his spouse as she offers him a spoonful that he gratefully accepts.

As much as he’d joke that he could do it himself, Alm allows himself this weakness and indulges in the moment. The broth is warm and while he can barely taste the meal, it still feels like the best he’s had in a while... something he chalks up to the sickness talking.

It is between spoonfuls that he loses track of time, and while in one minute he’s responding to Celica as she tells him about how she’d managed to get them both a day off, the next it’s dark and he stirs to find her asleep, curled against his side on her upper half, while the rest of her sits on the chair.

And... he’s feeling a lot better.

Allowing himself a moment to gaze at Celica, at the soft curls of her hair and how her chest shifts with every breath, he decides that it’s... probably uncomfortable for her. Carefully, he shifts Celica off him to remove the covers off himself, then sets her back.

Wrapping his arms around her, Alm carefully tries to pull her forward and onto the bed, shifting a little to the side to make room. It takes him a few tries, and he stops whenever she stirs too much, but soon enough he finds himself with his partner curled against him completely.

Draping the covers over them both, he kisses her forehead as affection once more blooms in his chest. “Rest,” he mumbles, lips against her skin. “Thank you.”

Left hand burying itself in her soft hair, he sighs in contentment, allowing himself to fall back to the lull of sleep.

There is no place he’d rather be, the nagging in his head finally silent as he rests at the side of the person he loves the most.

**Author's Note:**

> I will probably regret posting this in the morning because it is SELF INDULGENT GARBAGE


End file.
